A Winning Hand
by nativefloridian
Summary: A late night card game reveals more than expected. Set mid-season 2.


Set at some point in season 2

Tom Chandler looked on in amusement as Tex glared at Rachel. Tex was used to winning the poker games they sometimes had late at night in the officer's ward room; Tom, Mike, and Andrea had long accepted that playing poker with Tex was a losing proposition, but it was something to do on slow nights while they discussed scuttlebutt and recycled the same stale jokes. Tonight Rachel had wandered in, looking for a snack and a place to kill an hour while her tests were running.

Which is why there were three highly amused faces watching as Tex progressed from shock to disgust, as he sputtered in disbelief at being defeated four hands in a row.

"Wha- where did you learn to play like that?" Tex finally demanded.

"College."

"Seriously? Didn't think you'd have time for that in med school."

"I did go to a few parties in pre-med. Haven't played a lot since then though." Tex's puzzled look was back. "The rules of the game don't change, Tex. And if I haven't played much in the years since, I _have_ taken a lot of stats classes. A deck of cards is pretty simple statistics."

Tex shook his head in a mix of amusement and defeat.

"Guess it's a good thing we're not playing for money." He yawned suddenly, apparently surprising himself. "And it looks like I'm more tired than I thought. 'Night, all." He rose and walked to the hatch, but turned to Rachel before he left. "You're welcome to stop by and beat the pants off me any time", he said, winking on his way out the door.

Rachel rolled her eyes at his back. Tom began to gather up the cards as he spoke.

"At the risk of stating the obvious, doctor, I do believe that man is sweet on you." He said. She glanced at him and sighed.

"I know. And he's sweet _to_ me, but…"

"Not your type?" Andrea said. Rachel waggled her hand.

"That's part of it. The other part of it is that while I believe he's sincere in his affections, he seems to be a 'chaser'."

"Yeah, I can see that." Andrea agreed.

Tom and Mike looked at each other, realizing they'd just waded into deep waters.

"Uh… 'chaser'?" Mike asked.

"Someone who enjoys the thrill of the chase, but can't seem to settle down. He's charming and sweet, and all the things you want in a guy. Early on it's great; they make all the romantic gestures. But once he's in a relationship, once he's 'caught' you, eventually the challenge disappears and he gets bored and moves on. He'd be fun to date if I were younger, but…I'm past 'fun' relationships." She sighed. "I feel somewhat bad about it; there's no malice in him, and I consider him a friend. But I'm just not interested in him like that. I hope he finds someone, though."

"Well, he's not got a lot of options aboard ship." Andrea said "There's only about forty women aboard… and only one civilian among them."

Rachel looked at the others.

"So he's not actually allowed to date any of the crew?"

"Well, he is, but he's under the impression he's not." Andrea smirked.

"Did you tell him that?" Tom asked. "Probably for the best, now that I think about it."

"No. From what I hear, Lt. Green caught him making eyes at Kara and overreacted." Andrea explained, receiving chuckles all around.

"So he is allowed…he just doesn't know it." Rachel confirmed.

"Please don't tell him. I don't need that kind of drama on the ship…" Tom said, beginning to shuffle the cards, completely missing the sudden gleam of mischief in Rachel's eyes.

"But what if _I_ wanted to date someone aboard ship?"

He blinked at her, cards frozen in midair. She returned his gaze with the most innocent face she could muster.

"Could I?" she asked, waiting for him to reply. He took a moment to resume shuffling (and recover his voice).

"Technically, yes. But I would ask that you be discreet. Things could get weird if you started, uh, snogging one of my lieutenants on the deck."

"Snogging, Captain?"

"That is what you call making out in Britain, right?" he asked.

"I believe so," Rachel laughed, "But you needn't worry about my chasing your lieutenants. They're cute, and while I do enjoy the 'officer and a gentleman' phenomenon, I'm not a …what is the term, Andrea? Panther?"

"Cougar." She answered, smiling.

Rachel turned back to Tom, who was putting the cards back in the box. He'd suddenly decided they'd played enough cards for tonight.

"So, you see, captain? Your lieutenants are safe from any snogging attacks. I'll be too busy in the lab anyway. Speaking of, my tests should be done about now. Good night." She left the wardroom, followed by Andrea – but not before Andrea shared a look of unholy and unspoken amusement with Mike.

Mike leaned back in his seat and waited until Tom had properly stowed the cards before speaking.

" _You lucky bastard._ "

"Huh?"

"Tom – I say this as your friend – you can be dense sometimes." He paused, waiting for Tom to catch up. When he didn't, he continued. "She likes you, dumbass." Tom still looked confused; Mike put up a hand and started counting on his fingers. "She just asked if she was allowed to date a 'member of the crew'. She stated she appreciated an officer and a gentleman. And she said lieutenants were too young for her." Tom started to follow, but was still sparring with disbelief.

"So? She could have meant you, _Commander_ Slattery."

"I might also point out that we were both telling the same shitty, tired jokes all night. She only laughed at yours." Mike then became more serious. He didn't speak aloud that of the two, Tom was the only one confirmed single. He also didn't know if his friend was ready to move on yet, so he spoke softly and made it clear he wasn't waiting for a reply by standing up and pushing his chair in. "I know you've been too busy to think about such things lately, but if you were interested, I think she'd let herself be caught. _And_ _kept_." He moved to the door. "Good night, Captain."


End file.
